Farewell Cot

Since Alexander turned 2 I have been looking for a bed for him. I didn't want to spend money on a bed frame if I didn't have to. My challenge was to find a bed on gumtree for free. It took a few months and a few goes at seeing one, contacting the owner and them replying saying someone else had got it, but after a few months we finally managed to find a bed for free and it is a lovely one. James and Dad went to get it and we stored it upstairs until there was a time when Alexander wasn't here so James and I could set it up.


The holidays was this time. Sunday 7th October saw Alexander have his last sleep in the cot, his last sleep in sleeping bags. When did my baby grow up? 

I LOVE this photo that James took!

He had a good nights sleep but in the morning wasn't very happy to be awake. Or I more thought it was because he knew it was his last night in his cot.

 But he wasn't sad for long.

This cot has had Oscar, Daniel, Eliza and Alexander sleep in it. Many nights over more than 9 years with these kiddies in it. I was sad that we were putting this cot out. It is a symbol of having babies, little kiddies. And now that it has gone it is showing that my youngest is growing up. Hopefully we can find someone else to take the cot as I don't want to just put it out.

On Monday night James and I pulled apart the cot and then assembled Alexander's new bed. It fitted in nicely and was all set up for Alexander when he got back home on Tuesday afternoon.

I wasn't very sure about how Alexander would go with being in a big boy bed but hoped because of Daniel and Eliza showing how they stay in their room after the sun goes down. He was very excited to have his big boy bed and was very excited to sleep in it.

 And so were Daniel and Eliza.

 He liked having goodnight cuddles with Daddy after stories and prayers and loved saying goodnight to his sun on his own groclock.

 And happily went to sleep with bunny.

He slept well in the night which was good.

 And he woke happily in the morning. I didn't know how he would go with naptime on the Wednesday because he might have wanted to stay up and play. But he was a champ and fell asleep for his nap time too. (But was naughty with his thumb in his mouth).

Alexander has been the best in his big boy bed. He hasn't even gotten out of his bed without the sun being up. He can call out to us from his bed (and at the moment he does a lot when going to sleep) but he stays in his room.

My favourite part of him moving into a big boy bed though is his joy at seeing his sun come up in the morning. Each morning without a doubt he runs into our room screaming 'My sun is up! My sun is up!' It is then often followed closely by 'Do you want to see it? Mummy, Daddy come and see my sun.' Of course we jump up very excited and run to his room to see his sun up.

 My big boy.

Inflatable world

What better plan to do with Jens and Osc on a rainy day than to head to Inflatable World with the kids. Alexander stayed home with James so he could have a nap because we went in the afternoon but Eliza and Daniel were excited to go.

When we got there, Eliza I think was a bit overwhelmed and was also starting a cold because she was very clingy and not keen to go on the different jumping castles but she did get into it at times. Daniel and Oscar had a blast though. 

They loved the jumping obstacle course.

The kids had a blast going down the slide, making trains. So much for the 'one person at a time' sign. Whoops. But their smiles were totally worth it!

The kids had fun climbing the tower. Eliza especially loved using it as a jumping castle. It was unfortunate that there wasn't a jumping castle set up to just enjoy jumping on. 

For most of the time Eliza clung to Auntie Jenny. Holding her hand, pulling her to the different activities, asking for cuddles. I love the bond these 2 have. Eliza really does gravitate to Jens and it is beautiful (even though I'm sure it's exhausting for Jens sometimes too).

Daniel was super keen to have a turn on the wrestling/moving mushroom. He looked pretty cute with the helmet on.

But Oscar and Eliza preferred to hide in the mats.

The kids enjoyed having a go at shooting some hoops too. Jens and I especially liked Eliza's technique. It involved falling down each go, and not very gracefully. The boys were very excited when they scored a goal.

It was a fun afternoon.


 

Music in their blood

The kids have got music in their blood. I love watching them sing, dance, play. I hope it continues to be in their blood as they grow up and that they have a love of music. Here is just a glimpse of some of the music love that the kiddies show.

Colin music is a common joy that they regularly ask for. Each of the kids love to grab the microphones and then sing while playing the piano.

The kids  love to have a dance. One night there was a lot of challenges with the kids so I decided to try and finish the night with a positive. We put on a song and the kids and James had a great time dancing to it. I love the joy on their faces and seeing James become a kid with them.

We sadly had to say goodbye to our kids keyboard. Best $10 we've ever spent I think. It has brought so much joy to each of the kids. The demo buttons have been played and played again. I was really sad that we had to put it out, as was Daniel especially. But we had to. Something happened to the wires inside and it kept restarting while the kids were playing so it wasn't working properly. Thank you Christmas keyboard. 

Daniel and Eliza have wanted to take their microphones to church some afternoons. It is great to see them getting into the worship and joining in with others.

Here is another part of Alexander singing at the piano.

In the afternoon I often have to wake Alexander up to go to school for pick up time. He is often tired and wants to be carried. Some days I carry him to school but other days I can manage to have him walk, mainly by singing songs. Here he is singing Play School to me as we walk. I love the end 'It's Play School, It's Play School, It's Play School.'

I love how at preschool they teach the kids things that James and I wouldn't be able to do. One night Eliza came home and started to sing 'Twinkle Twinkle' but she said there were new actions. As she did the actions we asked her if it was sign language and she said it was. Eva had taught them how to sing it with sign language. She then started to teach up the actions. I love that she remembered it. We then spoke about why there is sign language and what it is used for.